ASUS dates Eee Pad/Eee Slate tablet range

ASUS has confirmed availability for its 2011 tablet range, having brought the various slates out to play at CeBIT 2011 this week. We're still most interested in the ASUS Eee Pad MeMO, the 7-inch HTC Flyer rival, which the company says will be out in Q3 2011.

Meanwhile, the Eee Pad Transformer and Eee Pad Slider - which we played with back in January - will arrive in the UK come mid-April. They'll run Android 3.0 Honeycomb at launch, as will the MeMO, unlike the demo units we've seen so far that have been based on Froyo.

Finally, ASUS' sole Windows 7 tablet, the Eee Slate EP121, will go on sale from early April; in the UK it will be sold through "selected" PC World and Currys stores. No pricing at this stage, though ASUS Germany has said that the Eee Pad MeMO is expected to kick off at €499.

A wide range of innovative tablet computers provide
variety of choice for consumers and businesses alike.

CeBIT, Hanover, Germany — ASUS today presented a live
demonstration of the four tablet devices announced earlier this
year: the Eee Slate EP121, Eee Pad Transformer, Eee Pad Slider
and Eee Pad MeMO. Designed for a wide range of users and
applications, the models will be available with three screen sizes,
and a choice of either Windows® 7 Home Premium or Google
Android® operating systems for the ultimate in mobile flexibility
and productivity.

Consumer choice is essential when selecting innovative and
technologically advanced personal computer devices. When it comes
to tablets, there is a clear need for devices that can deliver a full
multimedia experience using HD video, broad connectivity options,
gaming, plus the broadest range of media compatibility with
standards like Adobe Flash, all in a neat compact package. In
short, there is a demand for tablets that enable users to both
consume and create content in order to learn, work or play.

ASUS Eee Slate EP121
The Eee Slate EP121 is designed for users who require a highly
portable handheld device that can also run standard office software
while multitasking with other applications. Powered with an Intel®
Core™ i5 dual-core processor, the Eee Slate features a 12.1” LEDbacklit display with a 1280 x 800 resolution and a wide 178° viewing angle, making it perfectly suited for both productivity applications and multimedia entertainment.

Windows® 7 Home Premium ensures full compatibility with a wide
range of popular applications controlled by flexible input options
thanks to the Eee Slate. The capacitive touch-screen responds
instantly to fingertip control for day-to-day use, while the
electromagnetic stylus offers fine precision input and control. An onscreen keyboard is also complimented by support for an external
Bluetooth keyboard for traditional desktop use.

The Eee Slate is available with 32GB or 64GB of SSD storage
(expandable via SDXC), and up to 4GB of DDR3 RAM. All models
have 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, a 2-megapixel camera, plus two
USB 2.0 ports that provide full support for a wide range of standard
PC peripherals, along with a mini-HDMI port that is ideal for
connecting to external displays.

The Eee Slate EP121 was recently honored with a CES 2011
Innovation Award in the Personal Electronics category, and initial
sales figures showed it reaching the 3rd best-selling item in the
Computers and Accessories category at Amazon.com.

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer
Slated for release in April, the Eee Pad Transformer comes with a
slim lightweight design and 10.1” capacitive touch-screen. It is the
perfect pad computer for people who want to enjoy multimedia on
the move, but still wish to have easy access to the web, email and
other productivity applications. A custom user interface provides
easy access to the many features of the Android® 3.0 HoneyComb
operating system, while the NVIDIA® Tegra™ 2 chipset provides
full support for Adobe Flash, smooth HD video conferencing and
playback, a lightning fast web experience and incredible mobile
gaming performance.

An optional docking station turns the Transformer into a full-fledged
notebook with a QWERTY keyboard for desktop use, while extending
battery life up to 16 hours. As with the Slider, front (1.2MP) and
rear (5MP) digital cameras make for easy video chat and digital
photography, while a built-in mini-HDMI port makes for easy
connections to external displays for full 1080p HD video playback.

ASUS Eee Pad Slider
Mobile users who want the best of both tablet and traditional
notebook worlds will be well served by the Eee Pad Slider. This pad
computer not only features a 10.1” IPS touch-screen for fingerfriendly use, but also a slide-out QWERTY keyboard for comfortable,
use-anywhere typing. It is powered by the NVIDIA® Tegra™ 2, the
world’s most advanced mobile processor with a dual-core CPU and
NVIDIA® GeForce® GPU for never-before-seen experiences on a
mobile device.

Built-in digital cameras on the front (1.2MP) and rear (5MP) of the
Slider allow for easy video chat and digital photography while the
Android® 3.0 HoneyComb operating system makes sharing photos
by internet, email and social media sites a breeze. The intuitive
interface provides user-friendly control via the capacitive touchscreen and optional onboard 3G allows for go-anywhere internet
access, making the Slider the ideal device for mobile professionals
with work-oriented needs.

ASUS Eee Pad MeMO
The Eee Pad MeMO provides the ultimate in mobile flexibility. Its 7”
capacitive touch-screen makes it small enough to slip into a jacket
pocket, yet still perfect for taking handwritten notes using the
supplied stylus pen. The Android® 3.0 HoneyComb operating
system with Qualcomm®'s dual-core Snapdragon™ offers a wide
range of productivity and entertainment software, while a Micro
HDMI port means the MeMO can even connect to an external
display for full 1080p HD video playback. Built-in digital cameras on
the front (1.2MP) and rear (5MP) of the MeMO also allow for easy
video chat and digital photography, making it a convenient travel
companion.